Before the Oncoming Storm

By Zaru

Summary: The great Inutaisho has returned full force from the world of spirits. He follows the scent of his youngest son only to become mesmerized by the sweet scent of Sesshomaru's ward left behind in the village.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. It belongs to the great Rumiko Takahashi.

A/n: HELLO! It has been quite a long time since I have seriously updated this fic. I am sooooo sorry that it took this long to actually get back into the story. There had been so many things going on in my life that I have been trying to deal with and with work, things have been even crazier. But now I'm back and ready to start updating fics whenever I can. I hope you can all forgive me for my extreme lateness of this new chapter. I truly hope you enjoy :)

The words that escaped Rin's mouth made Kagome's eyes widen with wonder. Did she just really say that she was possibly in love with Inutaisho? The priestess could not believe it. Young, sweet and innocent Rin, whom she predictably thought would be in love with Sesshomaru, had actually developed feelings for the dog demon lord. And after only a few days of knowing him.

Kagome leaned back, settling down with her knees under her, looking at Rin thoughtfully. "Lord Inutaisho?" She whispered.

The girl could only nod once before a blush crept up her cheeks. "Yes."

"Uh…wow, Rin. That's…" The woman trailed off unsure of what else to say that moment.

Silence filled the hut for a few moments as Kagome tried to think of what else to say to the poor girl. Rin couldn't think of anything to say either as thoughts of what she spoke seconds before rapidly coursed through her mind. I really told Kagome what I felt for Lord Inutaisho. A slight whimper escaped her. Perhaps I should not have spoken of it to her. Rin thought, bringing her knees out from under her, arms slowly wrapping around them.

Another moment went by. Kagome was still unsure of what to say, but knew something had to be said. Anything to shove the quietness surrounding them out the door.

Her brown eyes fell upon Rin once more, smiling lightly. "Rin."

She looked up at her friend with uncertainty. "Yes, Kagome?"

Kagome stayed quiet, then asked, "May I ask what made you think you would be in love with Lord Inutaisho?"

Rin's shoulders sagged a bit, arms loosely holding around her knees now. "I feel…different when I am around him."

"Different how?" The priestess wondered.

"Mm…I get a funny feeling in my stomach." She looked up. "As if something is flying."

Butterflies. Kagome grinned. "What else, Rin?"

"My heart." She placed her right hand gently over her own chest. "It races when he is near. And when he hugs me, I feel so happy."

"I see." Kagome became even more curious about this love Rin was feeling.

"And…he said I was special to him. Then…" Rin trailed off wondering if she should tell Kagome what they had done days before.

Kagome noticed Rin trailing off and urged her to continue. "Then what?" The curiosity was going to kill her imaginary cat for sure.

The teenager just smiled warmly at Kagome. "We sat together under a tree in the forest a few days ago while Lord Sesshomaru was here. As we spoke, Lord Inutaisho pulled me tightly against him and…kissed me."

Kagome's chocolate eyes widened, her jaw slack. "Seriously, Rin?" Inutaisho actually took a chance in kissing her while Sesshomaru was still around? "Oh wow, Rin! He really kissed you?"

"Mm-hmm." Was all Rin could say to that, the blush frequently returning to her cheeks.

The priestess reached over a hand cupping Rin's cheek, feeling the heat from the lovestruck girl. She must really be in love with him if she is feeling and acting this way.

Kagome chuckled lightly, caressing her face with a thumb. "Oh, Rin."

"Is it wrong?" She wondered now. Was it wrong of her to be in love with the great demon, her lord's father?

Is it wrong? Did she really just ask me that? Did Kagome truly feel that Rin being in love with Inutaisho wouldn't be right? Absolutely not. The priestess felt that everybody deserved a chance at being in love. Even if the love was not returned or didn't last.

"No, Rin. It is not wrong for you to have developed feelings of love for Inutaisho." She removed her hand from Rin's face, settling it back down in her own lap. "Listen, Rin. Being in love is never wrong. In fact, I believe that being in love is the greatest feeling in the world." Kagome continued smiling.

"Really?"

"Yes, Rin. However, even though love can be a wondrous feeling, not everybody gets a chance to truly feel it. To know the true meaning of caring deeply for someone."

"I see." Rin said, listening intently to the priestess.

Kagome licked her lips. "Rin, has Inutaisho ever spoke of feelings toward you?"

The young girl shook her head. "Not exactly. He says I am special to him, but…what we have are just 'moments' as he calls them."

"Moments?"

"Yes. My first kiss with him, he spoke saying it was a 'moment' and nothing more." Her face became crestfallen. "Afterwards, we never truly had anymore 'moments'. All we do is speak, even when alone."

The pregnant woman smiled small. "Well, Rin, I am certain that Inutaisho has some type of feelings toward you. If not, he would not act the way he does with you."

"The way he…acts?" Rin blinked, not understanding.

"Mm…how can I put this? He cares for you a lot, Rin. He smiles every time he sees you. Watches you all the time. Stays close by your side whenever he can. He speaks a lot about you to me and Kaede when he is unable to be near you." She crept a bit closer to Rin as she spoke until she was directly in front of her, her face mere inches from her. "Not only that, but he pouts when he cannot spend time with you."

Kagome giggled as she remembered that day. Inutaisho had come to Kaede's hut early in the morning seeking out Rin. Unfortunately, Kaede had to inform him that young Rin was busy doing chores and would be unable to see him until later on when the sun was high. The priestess had walked out of her own hut with a bucket of laundry to do and noticed them speaking to one another. It was that moment when he turned and she noticed the great, mighty demon lord -feared by many, humans and demons alike - was actually pouting over a human girl.

Once again, Rin's cheeks turned crimson at Kagome's words. He truly does those things? Her hands covered face in sheer embarrassment. The lord actually did all those things when she wasn't with him? Oh, how was she going to be able to face him once more.

Kagome's laugh died down, reaching over to grip Rin's wrists to remove them from her face. "Rin, don't be embarrassed."

"Why shouldn't I be? You are telling me of things Lord Inutaisho has done in my presence yet I never noticed." She squealed a bit. "Oh!" Her hands struggled to get out of Kagome's grip. "This is embarrassing!"

"Listen, if it's embarrassing to you, then I guess you must truly be in love with him." Her voice lowered a bit as she heard scuffling outside the hut. Inuyasha must be back. "What do you think?" She asked while letting Rin from her grasp.

Rin's left hand rested on the floor nervously creating imaginary patterns. "I guess I am."

"Right." She cleared her throat. "We can talk more later, Rin, if you wish to. Okay?"

"Hm?" She blinked wondering why . "Why -"

"Because we have company." She continued smiling, nodding her head toward the bamboo door cover.

"Oh, okay, Kagome." She smiled and stood up from her spot on the ground. "I think I'm going to see if Lady Kaede may need a little help."

"All right. I will see you later, Rin."

"Yes." Nodding, she began heading toward the door, but Kagome stopped her.

"Rin."

"Kagome?" She turned to the priestess. "What is it?"

"If you ever want to see a pouting Inutaisho, let me know? I bet we can get him to do it." She grinned as Rin started laughing while shaking her head, turning back and shoving the bamboo to the side to exit the hut.

It was a moment later that Inuyasha appeared inside, his arms tucked inside his firerat haori. Kagome just smiled at her husband.

"Welcome home, Inuyasha."

"Yeah, thanks." He stood there in the doorway, not moving an inch, just staring at Kagome strangely.

She wondered if there was something wrong with her husband as he continued to stare at her. He had a different look about him than when he left that morning. Did something terrible happen in the village or one of the jobs he went on with Miroku? Did the monk get hurt? Or another one of their friends? Or was it that the half-demon overheard the conversation she had with Rin? Is that why he was looking at her with apprehension?

"Is everything okay, Inuyasha?" She pushed herself up from the floor, slowly walking toward her husband. "Did something happen?"

The half-demon sighed heavily, his gaze averting to a wall of their home. "Guess you could say that."

"Well, what happened?"

He continued staring at the wall. Just great. Now we have to figure out how to deal with all this. Inuyasha couldn't help but think.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome called out to him again. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Finally, amber eyes moved to stare at his wife. "Yeah, I'm fine. But the old man might not be so lucky once Sesshomaru comes around again."

"Eh? What do you mean? What's going on, Inuyasha?"

He removed his arms from the haori, hands resting at his sides. "Kagome, I overheard you talking with Rin."

"You eavesdropped on our conversation? Inuyasha!" Hands moved to rest on her hips angrily. "How dare you listen in on something so personal! Especially to a young girl!"

Inuyasha snorted. "Not my fault you were talking loud enough for me to hear."

"You could have walked away or covered your ears at least!" The woman scolded her husband. "It's rude to invade someone's private conversation!"

"Keh!" He turned his nose into the air, arms once again settling into his haori sleeves. "You're lucky I did!"

"What are you talking about, lucky?" She asked, anger still in her voice. How dare he do something like this!

"Believe it or not, I just got through talking to the old man about this same kind of conversation." The half-demon finally said. "And like I said, he won't be lucky when Sesshomaru comes again!"

Kagome was bewildered. Inuyasha had the same conversation with Inutaisho that I had with Rin? I don't understand. "Inuyasha, I don't understand. What were you two talking about?"

Inuyasha plopped down on the hut floor near the fire pit, sighing. "I had to understand why he kept pursuing Rin like he was. Rin means a lot to me and the rest of us. I needed to know what his intentions toward her were."

"And? What did he say?"

"He's falling for Rin."

Truly, why did his father have to develop such feelings for a very young human girl? He could have spent time with any girl in the village or surrounding area, but no. He had to settle on his eldest son's ward who was only thirteen, ready to become fourteen in a short amount of time. Sure, his father may have had the same situation happen with his mother, Izayoi, but it somehow seemed different when it came to sweet Rin.

Once again, quiet filled the hut, the only sound heard were the muffled voices of villagers as they passed by the hut. Kagome continued standing and staring down at Inuyasha.

She noticed how his eyes changed from worry to uneasiness as though thinking of the new changes that would possibly occur. Kagome wasn't sure how to approach him. For one, she wasn't against Rin's feelings for Inutaisho, nor the opposite. The two shared an unmistakable bond, so the half-demon should have known some kind of feelings would develop. Then again, she understood why he would be a bit upset or uneasy. His father wishing to be in a relationship with a girl who happened to be like a little sister to him? Yeah, definitely would make her feel that way as well.

Inuyasha stared down into the firepit. "What do you think we should do, Kagome?"

The pregnant woman finally made her way over to him, slowly settling down beside him. "To be honest, Inuyasha, I think we should just…let them be."

He looked at her in shock. "You can't be serious?"

"I am serious." Her own sigh escaped. "Inuyasha, if Rin and Inutaisho have feelings for one another, then they need to work this out on their own. We cannot interfere like that. Especially if they feel love for one another."

Inuyasha looked at her sadly. "I know. I mean, I always wished for Rin to find happiness. And even though he doesn't show or say it, Sesshomaru does, too."

"Right. That's why we can't say anything to either one of them. Let them figure out how to handle each other's feelings. Who knows? Maybe they will not say a word to each other. At least not for awhile."

He didn't want to get in the middle of his father's happiness. He really didn't. The demon spent over 200 years dead only to be revived and find out his human mate no longer existed in the world. Inuyasha could understand how lonely that could be. And if he was able to find peace and love with someone again, who was he to stand in their way?

TBC…

A/n2: And THAT IS THAT! Okay, crappy chapter and ending but hey….an UPDATE! Woohoo! Should see some serious Rin and Inutaisho bonding hopefully in the next chapter….until then….

Ja ne!